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A review by signemai
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
5.0
4.5 stars.
To quote Coley Taylor: "Wow, Cameron Post"
Don't let this description fool you into thinking this is a plot-driven book, full of action-packed confrontation between rebellious gays and religious freaks. No, this book isn't about that. It isn't really even about gay conversion camps, though that plays a significant part in Cameron's story. But you need to be aware of the fact that this part of her story is only a very short part of a larger story about a girl growing up gay.
We follow Cameron Post from the age of 12 till the age of 17 (ish, not specified) where she is living in the small town Miles City, Montana. It's about her journey figuring out her sexuality, experimenting with both boys and girls, all while dealing with her extremely religious aunt following the death of her parents. It's all very fun to follow Cameron falling in love with various different girls in her life, and takes an immediate darker turn when she is outed and sent to "pray the gay away."
Cameron is funny, adventurous, and you root for her from page one.
This book could have easily dragged me down as a result of its very descriptive writing, which sometimes went places that seemed completely irrelevant. You get the feeling you are literally stuck in Cameron's thoughts.
But it didn't drag me down at all, because this book is so full of real feelings, real experiences, real passions. Cameron feels so incredibly real, and, for me personally, her thoughts and feelings were so, so relatable. Not just that, the rest of the characters feel real, too. They're all so well described, both by appearance but also by behaviour, interests, motivations, etc. Very well written.
Overall, this book made me feel so many things. It made me laugh, it made me smile, it broke my heart, and then it made me feel heard, or seen. I give it 4.5 stars, the last 0.5 stars being for having a very abrupt ending. Which, nonetheless, was really quite beautiful and fitting, but still abrupt. I would very much like to see what Cameron is like maybe a year after this, to get some sort of resolution or conclusion.
To quote Coley Taylor: "Wow, Cameron Post"
Don't let this description fool you into thinking this is a plot-driven book, full of action-packed confrontation between rebellious gays and religious freaks. No, this book isn't about that. It isn't really even about gay conversion camps, though that plays a significant part in Cameron's story. But you need to be aware of the fact that this part of her story is only a very short part of a larger story about a girl growing up gay.
We follow Cameron Post from the age of 12 till the age of 17 (ish, not specified) where she is living in the small town Miles City, Montana. It's about her journey figuring out her sexuality, experimenting with both boys and girls, all while dealing with her extremely religious aunt following the death of her parents. It's all very fun to follow Cameron falling in love with various different girls in her life, and takes an immediate darker turn when she is outed and sent to "pray the gay away."
Cameron is funny, adventurous, and you root for her from page one.
This book could have easily dragged me down as a result of its very descriptive writing, which sometimes went places that seemed completely irrelevant. You get the feeling you are literally stuck in Cameron's thoughts.
But it didn't drag me down at all, because this book is so full of real feelings, real experiences, real passions. Cameron feels so incredibly real, and, for me personally, her thoughts and feelings were so, so relatable. Not just that, the rest of the characters feel real, too. They're all so well described, both by appearance but also by behaviour, interests, motivations, etc. Very well written.
Overall, this book made me feel so many things. It made me laugh, it made me smile, it broke my heart, and then it made me feel heard, or seen. I give it 4.5 stars, the last 0.5 stars being for having a very abrupt ending. Which, nonetheless, was really quite beautiful and fitting, but still abrupt. I would very much like to see what Cameron is like maybe a year after this, to get some sort of resolution or conclusion.